Military-grade signal jammers installed at Bilibid

Two new military-grade signal jammers were installed on Tuesday at the New Bilibid Prison, a report on News To Go on Wednesday said.

The high output power signal jammers were placed inside Building 14 where convicted drug lords and high-profile inmates are detained, GMA News' Jun Veneracion reported.

The use of the jammers is aimed at disrupting communication signals inside Building 14 to prevent drug lords from operating and conducting drug trade transactions using the cellphone and Internet.

"We are hoping na kung 'di man totally ma-eradicate 'yung transactions using the cellphone, at least ma-minimize at ma-prevent," Justice Undersecretary Reynante Orceo said.

Each jammer can disrupt signals up to 20 meters away. With this, not only Building 14 will be affected; even the nearby residential area will also lose cellphone signals.

The new signal jammers have been placed in a secure area to prevent sabotage not just by inmates but also by corrupt prison guards.

Two improvised jammers have been previously installed at the national penitentiary but these were sabotaged.

"May umabot din kasi sa akin na dati tinatanggal nila 'yung saksakan ng jammer, ng mga personnel. Na-identify naman 'yung ibang mga gumagawa nun. Personnel ng BuCor [Bureau of Corrections]," Rolando Asuncion, officer-in-charge of the BuCor, said.

In 2015, the NBI discovered that the Bilibid 19 inmates—19 high-profile big-time detainees previously held at NBP's Maximum Security Compound—threw salt on the signal jammers installed near their cells. The Bilibid 19 inmates have since been transferred to the NBI prison facility.

The previously installed jammers were also allegedly destroyed through the use of electricity, the report said.

Ever since the Special Action Force took over securing the NBP in July, it has been difficult to bring in cellphones in the national penitentiary.

The Department of Justice however said some cellphones were already being kept inside the cells, particularly in Building 14, before the SAF came in.

Inmates have resorted to using creative ways to hide their cellphones, such as using foot stools and table decor with hidden compartments.

The BuCor has asked the Philippine National Police to extend the SAF's deployment to NBP for another six months. —KG, GMA News